Smelting minerals



F; w. SMITH'. SMELTING MINRALS. APPLICATION FILED- AUG.15 191-9. 1

Patented July 26, 1921.

2 SHEES-SHEET 2- F. W. SMITH. SMELTING MINERALS. APPLICATION FILEDAUG.I5`, 1919. 1,385,723, Patented July 26, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK W. SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN J.

GLASHEEN, ONE-FOURTH TO RICHARD J'.

SNELLBERGER, AND ONE-FOURTH T0 WILBERT J. LEWIS, ALL OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS.

SMELTING MINERALS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented AJuly 26", 1921.

Application filed August 15, 1919. Serial No. 317,653.

useful Improvementsin Smelting Minerals,

of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In lead smelting practice, it has been the practice to draw the gasesfrom the smelting furnaces by a-blower and to force themV throughfiltering bags to conserve the entrained dust and fume, generally knownas lead fume. It has been the practice to periodically shake the bags todischarge the fume into compartments or chambers surrounded by highbrick partitions and permit it to accumulate in the chambers and thenignite it by means of light waste, suiieient air being admitted throughusually takes about three days after setting fire to the dust for thechambers to cool sufiiciently before they can be cleaned, at which timethe dust becomes cindered and is in a columnar structure about siXinches thick. During this period, the filter bags above the chambers arenecessarily out of operation. This delay is caused by the necessity ofpermitting the dust to 'cool off sufiiciently so that it could beshoveled into wheel-barrows and dumped into railroad cars and taken tothe blast furnace bin.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method ofhandling this fume or dust which will avoid the delay and loss of timeincident to the cooling of the fume in the firing-chambers.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved method by whichthe fume will be handled mechanically so that the men do not have tohandle the burnt products, thus eliminating all danger of mineralpoisoning.

The invention consists primarily in providing hoppers in thefume-receiving chambers with valves, through which the hot cindered fumewill fall, and discharging it, while it is hotand without waiting vforit to cool, onto a conveyer adapted to handle and convey it while hotinto the usual railroad cars or place of storage. In this manner, thetime, usually lost in Waiting for the cindered material to cool and thegas to escape vfrom the filtered bags.

doors and windows to furnish oxygen for combustion. Ity

therefrom until it is safe for the operators to remove it, Vis saved andthe receiving chamber can be used to again receive fume This practiceresults in greatly eXpediting the handling of the cindered fume.

The invention consists in the several novel features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: F ignre 1 isa longitudinal section of apparatus forpractising the invention. Fig.'2 is a horizontal section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, parts beingk omitted. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 upon anenlarged scale.

The invention is illustrated in connection with a refining plant adaptedfor lead smeltl ing practice and in which the gases are drawn fromfurnaces and discharged into a flue passing along the bag-house 9. Fromsaid flue, the gases with entrained dust and fume are drawn through thefiltering bags 10 of usual construction. As well understood in the art,mechanical shakers are operatedv at stated intervals to dislodge thematerial caught in the bags.

A chamber 14 is provided with downwardly convergent inclined walls 15which direct the discharge from the bags onto gates 16 which form amovable bottom for the chamber. The walls of the chamber are formed ofconcrete andthe gates 16 are, formed of metal to adapt the structure forburning the fume in the chamber. The gates 16 are transversely slidablein guideways formed by channeled cross-beams 17 and 18, and are adaptedto be opened land closed by chains 19 and shafts 20 which eX- tendlongitudinally of the chamber 15 and are provided with wheels 21, sothat the gates can be opened or closed by an operator outside of thechamber 14. The lower ends of walls 15 join with side walls 22 of aconduit 23 which contains an endless conveyer 24 which is adapted toconvey the material received from the chamber 14 to and through one endof the bag-house and to deliver the material into railroad cars 25 whichare adapted to convey the fume to the blast furnace-bins.

The conveyer 24 is preferably of the endless chain type provided withmetallic plates 30, the chains passing around sprockets 31 and 32 at theends of the conveyer. A concrete Hoor 33 is provided under the conveyer.An electric motor 34 operates a belt 35 Which in turn operates a pulley36 on a shaft 37 which is connected by a chain 38 and sprockets 39 and40 to the shaft 41 of the sprockets 31. The operation of the conveyer bydriving mechanism is controlled by a suitable clutch 43 so that theoperator can control the operation of the conveyer as desired.

In the practice of the invention, the dust in chamber 14 is ignited inthe usual Way While it is in said chamber and While gates 16 are closed.As soon as the fume is burnt, the gates 16 are opened and the fume,While it is still hot, is discharged upon the conveyer 24 which isadapted to conduct the material to the car in that condition. As

a result of this practice, the time heretofore lost in Waiting for thefume to cool suiiiciently to make it possible to handle it by workmenand for the poisonous gases to escape will be saved, because'as soon asthe fume has been burnt, the conveyercan be operated to remove thismaterial and discharge it into the cars where it can be lett to cool aslong as desired Without interfering `with the operation of the plant.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the details setforth, since these may be modified Within the scope of the appendedclaims, Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, 'what i charged through saidblast-furnace, discharging the'fume into a chamber, burning the fume inthe chamber, discharging the burnt fume from the chamber before it hasbeen cooled sufficiently to be handled by Workmen and mechanicallyconveying it from beneath the chamber before it has so cooled, so thatthe iiltering of the gases may be continued Without waiting for the fumeto be so cooled.

2. In av smelting plant tor minerals',

the

combination of means for filtering gases Y from a blast-furnace, achamber `beneath the filtering means to receive the fume from theiiltering means, means for controlling the discharge of the fume fromsaid chamber, and mechanical means adapted to receive the hot fumedischarged through said controlling means and convey it away from thebuilding containing the chamber.

'3. In a smelting plant for minerals, the combination or' means forfilteringV gases from a blast-furnace, a chamber beneath the filteringmeans having a hopper therein for receiving the fume from the filteringmeans, gates for 'controlling the discharge of .the fume from saidhop-per and an endless conveyer to receive the lhot gates and conveyitto cars for transporting it to the smelter bins.

Y Y FRANK W. SMITH.'

burnt fume dis-1

